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About Christopher Price

Christopher Price has covered the Boston sports scene for more then a dozen years, working for ESPN.com, SI.com and Baseball America as well as The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald and Boston Metro. In that time, he’s established himself as an award-winning sportswriter who has been honored by Northeastern University, the New England Press Association and the North Carolina Press Association. In addition, he’s the author of the just published, “New England Patriots: The Complete Illustrated History” and two other books “Baseball by the Beach” and "The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower.”

 
COLUMNS
Christopher Price
09/13/2009 - 11:42pm
Bodden A Primary In Patriots Secondary
While much has been written and said about the dynamic turnover of the Patriots defense this offseason, no position has undergone greater change than the secondary. Three of the four players who started at defensive back for the Patriots in the 2008 opener — cornerbacks Ellis Hobbs and Deltha O’Neal and safety Rodney Harrison — have either been traded, been released or retired. The only holdover is safety James Sanders.
Christopher Price
09/13/2009 - 10:54pm
Five Things To Watch For Monday Night
It’s the opener for everyone, which means that whether you are getting set to play your first game in the NFL — like Pat Chung, Ron Brace or any one of the other Patriots rookies who made the 53-man roster — or starting your 35th season in the league — like Bill Belichick — there are going to be some nerves. “Yeah,” Belichick said when asked if he still got nervous before an opener. “I think everybody’s got the butterflies on opening day. Certainly, the coaches do.”
Christopher Price
09/11/2009 - 12:26am
Reports: Raiders Send Seymour Five-Day Letter
The letter has been delivered. According to multiple reports Thursday night, the Raiders officially have sent disgruntled defensive lineman Richard Seymour the much-discussed “five-day letter,” which gives Seymour five days to report to Oakland to take his physical.
Christopher Price
09/10/2009 - 2:17pm
New Patriots Getting Their Feet On The Ground
FOXBOROUGH -- Michael Matthews is probably going to do a little redecorating. The former Giants’ tight end -- who won a title with New York in Super Bowl XLII -- has what he calls a “Super Bowl shrine” at his house. In that collection of mementos is a picture of him from that game delivering a block to Patriots’ outside linebacker Adalius Thomas. “Now, I’m probably going to take that picture down because I’m a Patriot,” Matthews said with a sheepish grin Thursday.
Christopher Price
09/09/2009 - 11:03pm
T.O. Unleashes Verbal Volleys
FOXBOROUGH -- Terrell Owens never disappoints. On a conference call with Boston-area media Wednesday afternoon, the Bills’ new receiver took a playful jab at the Patriots and “Spygate,” joked that he wasn’t a fan of Buffalo’s new no-huddle offense and wondered if New England went out and acquired veteran cornerback Shawn Spring specifically to “check me.”
Christopher Price
09/09/2009 - 7:53pm
You Never Forget Your First Time: Rookies Will Face First Test
FOXBOROUGH -- Logan Mankins can recall the moment like it was yesterday. The Patriots’ rookie left guard stepped out onto the field at Gillette Stadium for his first regular-season game in the NFL on Sept. 8, 2005. He wasn’t cowed by the noise, the fireworks or the fact the game was a Thursday night opener broadcast to a national television audience.
Christopher Price
09/08/2009 - 11:33pm
Details of Seymour deal starting to surface
More details about Sunday’s trade of Richard Seymour to Oakland started to come to light Tuesday -- particularly the timeline of events that ended with the five-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman becoming the property of the Raiders. Speaking Monday afternoon on WEEI’s “Big Show,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Oakland initiated the trade talks last month about the same time the two teams pulled off the deal that brought defensive end/outside linebacker Derrick Burgess from the Raiders to New England.
Christopher Price
09/07/2009 - 11:21pm
Pats continue making roster moves
Holiday or no, the Patriots continued their roster-tweaking Monday, cutting veteran wide receiver Greg Lewis, signing rookie defensive back Bret Lockett and officially adding seven players to their practice squad. The biggest move was the release of Lewis. Acquired by the Patriots on March 5 along with a seventh-round pick from Philadelphia for a fifth-round pick in the 2009 draft, it was expected he would be in the mix for the No. 3 receiver position if he could come close to replicating his career-best numbers from 2005: 48 receptions for 561 yards.
Christopher Price
09/07/2009 - 1:13am
Same As It Ever Was: Seymour Deal Consistent With Pats' Approach
The news came on a quiet Sunday morning of Labor Day weekend, complete with multiple exclamation points: Richard Seymour traded! Five-time Pro Bowler shipped to Raiders! Patriots losing respected leader! But after a second or two of reflection, the first response was an obvious one: Should we really be all that surprised?
Christopher Price
09/04/2009 - 2:43am
Ten Things We Learned Last Night: Finally, The Preseason Finale
FOXBOROUGH -- If Benjamin Watson is released Saturday after five seasons with the Patriots, he sounds like a man who has made peace with his situation. Speaking slowly and carefully in the wake of Thursday’s 38-27 preseason win over the Giants at Gillette Stadium, the veteran tight end said he’s allowed himself to think about the fact that he might not be a part of the roster when the final cuts are announced.
Christopher Price
09/02/2009 - 9:29pm
Five Things To Watch For Thursday Night
FOXBOROUGH -- Before the final Patriots’ preseason game at Gillette Stadium a few years ago, the captains were at midfield before the game for the coin toss joking with each other about how little they were going to play. Linebacker Tedy Bruschi flashed the opposing captains the bottoms of his shoes -- no cleats.
Christopher Price
09/01/2009 - 11:46pm
Brady Tests Shoulder At Practice
FOXBOROUGH -- They weren’t a bunch of lasers, but Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a series of easy passes during the start of practice yesterday, four days after his right shoulder was squashed under the weight of Washington’s 350-pound defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.
Christopher Price
09/01/2009 - 10:41pm
Living On The Edge: Cutdown Day Looms For Players On The Bubble
FOXBOROUGH -- They have done everything that’s been asked of them, and it still may not be enough. Players like wide receiver Terrence Nunn and running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis have played well throughout training camp. They have shown coachability, desire and no small measure of talent. And when called upon in game action throughout the first three games of the preseason, they have played well.
Christopher Price
08/31/2009 - 11:18pm
Bruschi's Spirit Sparked Patriots' Success
FOXBOROUGH -- When he arrived in 1996, pro football in New England wasn’t much more than metal bleachers and dirt parking lots, tiny locker rooms and cold showers. Patriots Place was a gleam in Robert Kraft’s eye, and while the thought of New England playing host to a football dynasty wasn’t laughable, it was a bit of a stretch.
Christopher Price
08/30/2009 - 8:28pm
Sanders Leads New Generation Of DBs
FOXBOROUGH -- The locker now belongs to Roderick Rogers. It’s no different than the 80 or so other lockers in the Patriots’ locker room -- it’s got the same sharp look, the same compartments for all the valuables, the same spot for the nameplate at the top. The difference, as they say in real estate, is location, location, location. And Rogers, whether he knows it or not, has an important location.
Christopher Price
08/27/2009 - 11:12pm
Five Things To Watch For Friday Night
This is it. Friday night in Washington is the third preseason game of the year for the Patriots -- traditionally, it’s the preseason game where the starters play the most. It’s the last chance to see a reasonable facsimile of New England’s starting offense and defense in game action before Opening Night against Buffalo Sept. 14. All week in Foxborough, it’s felt less like preseason and more like a regular-season week. There’s less big picture stuff and more film work, game-planning and situational football.
Christopher Price
08/26/2009 - 9:38pm
Playing Mind Games Often A No-Win Situation For Rookies
FOXBOROUGH -- It’s a simple, three-word phrase that is the overarching theme to everything that Patriots coach Bill Belichick preaches: Do your job. But when it comes to rookies, the philosophy doesn’t always take the first time around. And when a first-year player doesn’t do his job, he’ll oftentimes try and make up for an error by trying to do his job … as well as the job of a teammate on the following play in an attempt to try and impress the coaches. And that rarely ends well.
Christopher Price
08/25/2009 - 6:45pm
Brady: I'm Not Worried About Contract
FOXBOROUGH -- He can’t help but notice. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has seen the deals signed by the Quarterback Class of 2004 -- six years and $93 million for Philip Rivers, six years and $97 million for Eli Manning and eight years and $102 million for Ben Roethlisberger. Almost $300 million in money to three young quarterbacks who have as many Super Bowl rings as Brady does combined.
Christopher Price
08/24/2009 - 10:42pm
Figuring Out The Final 53
FOXBOROUGH -- This week marks the halfway point of the six-week stretch between the start of training camp and the first regular-season game. Based on what we’ve seen so far, here’s my take on how the Patriots’ 53-man roster will look come Opening Night against the Bills. Quarterback: Tom Brady, Kevin O’Connell, Andrew Walter
Christopher Price
08/23/2009 - 8:20pm
Moss Growing Into New Role As Mentor
FOXBOROUGH -- Randy Moss has had a lot of adjectives attached to his name over the years: selfish, petulant, mercurial, brilliant. But at the dawn of his third season with the Patriots, he’s picked up another description: mentor. In fact, the 32-year-old Moss has taken a proactive role as an advisor to new and veteran players who might be struggling to learn the New England system, as well as those teammates who want to know the trade secrets of the six-time Pro Bowler.
Christopher Price
08/21/2009 - 2:31am
Ten Things We Learned Last Night: Pats Struggle In Preseason Loss
FOXBOROUGH -- No touchdowns, and no consistent offense. Nine penalties. Tom Brady taking some savage hits from opposing defenders. It was not the sort of night Patriots coach Bill Belichick was hoping for.
Christopher Price
08/20/2009 - 12:22am
Five Things To Watch For Thursday Night
A regular-season game between Chad Ochocinco’s Bengals and Bill Belichick’s Patriots would bring a torrent of good-natured trash-talking. When these two teams met in 2007, there was a nice back-and-forth between the two -- when the receiver (who was then known as Chad Johnson) asked the Patriots to cover him one-on-one, Belichick responded in kind.
Christopher Price
08/18/2009 - 11:19pm
Deconstructing The Pats' 4-3 Defense
FOXBOROUGH -- At first glance, it would appear that change is in the air at Gillette Stadium. After playing a 3-4 base defense the last few seasons, the Patriots showed a lot of 4-3 in their preseason opener last Thursday against the Eagles, and were able to get good pressure on a banged-up Philadelphia offensive line, coming away with a pair of sacks in the first half when the starters were in the game.
Christopher Price
08/17/2009 - 9:14pm
Mayo Now The Center Of Attention
FOXBOROUGH -- He is now, literally and figuratively, the man in the middle. All you had to do was watch the preseason opener against the Eagles last week: linebacker Jerod Mayo was in the center of the action in the 4-3. He was the one with the communication system in his helmet, making the calls, running the defense and making sure everyone was exactly where he needed to be. It was heady stuff for a second-year player out of Tennessee. But then again, Mayo isn’t your average second-year player.
Christopher Price
08/16/2009 - 11:28pm
Bruschi Back On The Field
FOXBOROUGH -- This summer, Tedy Bruschi sightings have been few and far between.


Audio On Demand

It Is What It Is Cast: Ex…

It Is What It Is Cast: Examining the New England Patriots offseason

In the latest edition of the "It Is What It Is" podcast, Chris Price and CSNNE's Mike Giardi take a look at the Patriots offseason on both sides of the ball, try and get a handle on which new guys will make an impact first, and whether or not the Patriots have altered their style when it comes to drafting and developing wide receivers.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on Tebow's release

Mike Florio joined the program to discuss the Jets decision to release Tim Tebow, he said the situation is as disaster all around for the Jets and that the problems begins with owner Woody Johnson. Mike also said that he was disappointed with the Pats moving back in the first round.

Mike Petraglia, WEEI.com, Sits Down with Butch Stearns to Help Break Down the Pats Draft

One of the hardest working men in the biz, Mike Petraglia aka "Trags", sits down with Butch Stearns live in Foxborough to help break down all the latest Pats moves. He discusses his reaction to the trade in Round 1 and the guys those picks produced. Also, the boys talk about the decent trade the Pats made in acquiring LeGarrette Blount from Tampa Bay for Jeff Demps and a 7th rounder.

Celtics President Danny A…

Celtics President Danny Ainge with Salk and Holley

We check in with Danny Ainge for our first talk to him since the Celtics season ended last weekend. We talk about the future of the team, KG, Pierce, Doc Rivers and more, as Danny directly answers the rumors being floated by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

Jackie MacMullan, ESPNBoston.com: "Gut" tells me Doc will stay

Jackie Mac joins the show to discuss the trade rumors swirling around Paul Pierce, KG, Doc Rivers and the Celtics. She also discusses the future of the Celtics head coach.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on his rumored Celtics Clippers trade

Stephen A. joined the program to discuss the trade rumors he has reported regarding a possible trade including Doc Rivers and the Clippers. Stephen A. also told the guys that he has heard that Danny and Doc may be tiring of working together.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia pos…

Jarrod Saltalamacchia postgame with Joe and Dave

Salty spoke with Joe Castiglione & Dave O'Brien after he helped his team to a 6-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox tonight. The Red Sox return to Fenway after going 6-3 on the road trip.

Red Sox Manager John Farrell with Salk and Holley

We check in with Red Sox Manager John Farrell live from Chicago and get his take on a good week for the Sox, a tough series since then in Chicago, and other team related notes.

Buster Olney, ESPN, on Ellsbury's future with Sox

Buster Olney joins Mut and Merloni to talk about the struggling Ellsbury and what that is doing to his contract value when he becomes a free agent.

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sport…

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sports: B's have instilled "fear" "concern" and "doubt" into Rangers

McGuire joins Mut and Merloni to discuss the Bruins game 3 win, the Rangers awful power play, and the Shawn Thornton Derek Dorsett altercation.

Shawn Thornton on his big game three

Shawn joined the program to discuss his big night at MSG. He told the guys that it is not Marchand's job to fight and that he needs to be on the ice and out of the penalty box.

NESN's Barry Pederson on the Bruins dominance

Cleveland Indians hottest team in baseball, yet remain last in attendance May 19, 2013 By AJ Kaufman 6 Comments There’s a scene in Major League where Bob Uecker, portraying the radio voice of the Indians, bemoans, “In case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven’t, the Indians have managed to win a few here and there, and are threatening to climb out of the cellar.” Well, that was nearly 25 years ago and fictional, but today’s reality is that Cleveland has won 17 of its last 21, and currently tops the AL Central with a mark of 25-17. No one in the majors is better than the Indians in the past month (20-7). That’s great news. The bad news, however, is the Tribe somehow remain in the MLB cellar when it comes to attendance. How can this be? The fact that I wrote on this same topic almost to the day last year – when only Tampa Bay drew fewer fans than Cleveland - may be even more troubling. Though roughly 34,000 watched a walk-off win Friday night against Seattle, perfect weather and free caps weren’t enough to draw more than 36,000 Saturday and Sunday combined. What did the Indians do in those tilts? They nabbed another walk-off win on Saturday, then the Indians crushed the great Felix Hernandez Sunday behind Justin Masterson, arguably the AL’s best pitcher right now. Fun fact: The Indians have already faced eight Cy Young Award winners in 2013: Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Jake Peavy, David Price, Justin Verlander and Hernandez. They have won seven out those eight matchups. Simply astounding. This offseason, the much-maligned Indians front office finally made a legitimate attempt to improve the team through free agency. I’m not talking an Ubaldo Jimenez-like trade, but rather smart acquisitions that brought veterans Mike Aviles, Michael Bourn, Jason Giambi, Scott Kazmir, Brett Myers, Mark Reynolds, Drew Stubbs and Nick Swisher to Cleveland. In addition to being a fantastic place to watch a game due to great egress and ingress, with extremely affordable tickets, the best promo lineup anywhere, Jacobs Field boasts overall, cooler, less muggy summer weather than most Midwestern locales. The team also lowered beer and hot dog prices to $4 and $3 respectively. What other professional stadium in any sport offers that? I have visited 28 of the 30 current Major League Baseball stadia, and few top The Jake when all angles are considered. I say that as a baseball fan, not an Indians fan. As for the putative “economic” angle, these are the same people who spend insane amounts of money to watch terrible football every fall and show up in decent numbers for putrid basketball in the winter. Irrespective of season length, those sports charge up to 10 times the price for a ticket, and the atmosphere isn’t half as fan-friendly as baseball. I understand fans’ lack of willingness to get on board to some degree. A decent recap of Cleveland’s decade of “rebuilding” can be read here and the team suffered a horrific collapse last August. However, in addition to all the benefits of attending games at Jacobs (now Progressive) Field, fans should also realize the team has potential and often exceeds preseason aspirations at any point without warning. Cleveland hosts the rival Detroit Tigers — heavy favorites to repeat as AL Central champs — Tuesday and Wednesday nights before hitting the road. The temperature should be pleasant at first pitch each evening so you’d expect The Jake to be full to watch the best hitter on the planet right now — but don’t count on it.

Former Red Sox manager Te…

Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona catches up with D&C

Terry Francona joins the Dennis and Callahan Show to discuss his first-place Indians team as well as his time in Boston. The former Boston manager also touches on his recent book co-authored by Dan Shaughnessy and Shaughnessy's recent dust-up with David Ortiz.

Shawn Thornton on his big game three

Shawn joined the program to discuss his big night at MSG. He told the guys that it is not Marchand's job to fight and that he needs to be on the ice and out of the penalty box.

The boys respond to Salk's attack

Our afternoon host Mike Salk was offended at Gerry and Kirk's conversation on his favorite band Rush, the guys responded.

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sport…

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sports: B's have instilled "fear" "concern" and "doubt" into Rangers

McGuire joins Mut and Merloni to discuss the Bruins game 3 win, the Rangers awful power play, and the Shawn Thornton Derek Dorsett altercation.

Buster Olney, ESPN, on Ellsbury's future with Sox

Buster Olney joins Mut and Merloni to talk about the struggling Ellsbury and what that is doing to his contract value when he becomes a free agent.

Shawn Thornton sticks up for Marchand as Derek Dorsett backs down

Mut and Merloni discuss the Derek Dorsett, Brad Marchand, and Shawn Thornton altercation and how great it was.

An hour with Jack Edwards…

An hour with Jack Edwards: Bruins win all four line match-ups with Rangers

With the Bruins up 3-0 in the series, we talk to Jack Edwards and take your calls. We touch on all things B's-Rangers and also focus on the future of the Bruins three promising young defensemen.

Salk and Holley's Four at Four - 05/22/13

We touch on four topics we haven't talked about today... topics today include: Brian Urlacher retires, NFL schedule expansion, Sergio Garcia and more...

Golfer Sergio Garcia goes 'Fuzzy Zoeller' and gets racial against Tiger Woods

We discuss Spain's Sergio Garcia and his ignorant, racist comments against Tiger Woods.

Daily Planet Tuesday May …

Daily Planet Tuesday May 21st

The Bruins look to take a 3-0 series lead, Jon Lester gets his first loss, Dwight Howard has options in free agency.

Daily Planet Monday May 20th

Today on the Daily Planet the Bruins have a 2-0 lead over the New york Rangers, the Red Sox are back on the winning sde of things, and the noteable birthdays of the day.

Daily Planet Thursday May 9th

The Bruins have almost finished raking the Leafs, the Red Sox struggle from the mound, Miami Heat fans show their level of class.

Salk and Holley's Miked U…

Salk and Holley's Miked Up and Answer the Question - 05/22/13

The Jerks are joined by another, Jerk Minihane.

Salk and Holley's Miked Up and Answer the Question - 05/21/13

They're like a ray of morning sunshine on an otherwise gloomy day.

Salk and Holley's Miked Up and Answer the Question 05/21/13

....uhhhh.....a bunch of bombs over there....

Linda calls in to describ…

Linda calls in to describe the scene on Dexter St in Watertown

Linda explains how the shootout transpired in Watertown during the early morning hours. She saw the first suspect mortally wounded and police beginning the manhunt for the second suspect.

More from this show

Boston bombing hero Jeff …

Boston bombing hero Jeff Bauman: "He's dead and I'm still here"

Jeff Bauman, a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing, joined the show to give the guys an update of his condition and a first-hand account of that terrible day. Jeff told the guys how he wrote the description of the bomber as soon as he could. Mr. Bauman added that he is aided every day with the knowledge that he is alive and the terrorist that detonated the bomb is dead.

More from this show

Elliotte Friedman of CBC …

Elliotte Friedman of CBC on the Bruins dominance of the Rangers

Elliotte Friedman joined the show to discuss the Bruins domination of the series thus far. He said that while nothing is certain he cannot see a way in which the Rangers come back and win the series.

More from this show

Former Red Sox manager Te…

Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona catches up with D&C

Terry Francona joins the Dennis and Callahan Show to discuss his first-place Indians team as well as his time in Boston. The former Boston manager also touches on his recent book co-authored by Dan Shaughnessy and Shaughnessy's recent dust-up with David Ortiz.

More from this show

Steve Zipay of Newsday on…

Steve Zipay of Newsday on the Rangers

Steve joined the show to discuss the Rangers and their coach John Tortorella. Steve said that the Bruins have been the far better team thus far in the series.

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